Music Box Realm
by AntisocialAnimeFreak
Summary: When the Axis and the Allies are pulled into a mysterious music box realm filled with strange, dangerous creatures, they split up into groups in a desperate search for an escape.
1. Trapped in the music box

The world meeting was in progress at America's house, but England didn't seem interested at all in what they were discussing. Instead, England was staring at a simple music box that America had placed in the centre of the table. He knew there was something strange about the box, he could sense it, but he wasn't sure what exactly it was.

The meeting soon finished and many of the nations returned home. All that remained at America's house were the Axis and the Allies. Germany was organising his papers while scolding Italy for eating pasta during the meeting. Russia was bothering China, and France was relaxing with a bottle of wine. Canada, with Kumajirou on his lap, was quietly sitting in his seat while America was stuffing his face with hamburgers.

Japan walked over to England to see if he was okay. After all, England hadn't spoken at all during the meeting, so it was obvious something was bothering him.

"Are you alright, England-san?" Japan asked, sounding concerned about England. "You've been staring at that box ever since you entered the room."

"Oh, I'm okay, Japan. Thanks for your concern," England said, finally taking his eyes off the box so he could look at Japan.

"Is there something special about that music box?" Japan asked, now being more curious than concerned.

"I don't know, I can't be sure of anything yet, but it just gives me a strange feeling," England briefly explained.

"I see," Japan replied, unsure of how to continue the conversation after receiving such an unclear answer. "Well, excuse me."

As that small conversation soon ended, Japan returned to being with Italy and Germany. England called over to America, wanting to ask him about the music box. America tried to reply, but all the words came out muffled due to the number of hamburgers he had shoved in his mouth, so England couldn't understand what he was trying to say at all.

"America, stop eating all those hamburgers, I have something important to discuss with you," England firmly said.

America finished eating a few more burgers before eventually talking to England.

"What's up, England?" America asked as he slurped some of his shake to wash down all the hamburgers he had just eaten. "You sound pretty serious for someone who was daydreaming during the whole meeting."

"I was not daydreaming! I just had something on my mind!" England protested. "Anyway, I need to ask you about that music box."

"Oh, is that what that thing is?" America asked. "Some guy gave it to me and I thought it would look nice. It's just a box, so how is it musical?"

England brought his hand to his face and let out a sigh before giving a reply.

"It may look like just a box, but inside of it is a mechanism that plays music, all you have to do is wind it up and music will play. There should be a key to turn at the back," England explained. "But I've been getting bad vibes from that thing ever since I entered this room."

"How can it be bad if it just plays music?" America asked as he picked up the music box.

"I'm not sure, but just to be safe, you probably shouldn't-" England didn't finish what he was saying as he noticed America doing the thing he was about to tell him to not do.

America began turning the key that was in the back of the music box.

"You idiot, why would you do that when I'm telling you it could be dangerous?!" England exclaimed.

"Chill out, England," America continued to rotate the key. "What's the worst thing that could happen? Everything will be fine because I'm the hero!"

America released the key and placed the music box on the table. The music box caught everyone's attention as they heard the melody playing.

"It sounds strange," England commented. "Maybe it's broken."

America was just about to comment on how nothing strange was happening because of it and that England was being too superstitious. However, before he could get the words out, he and everyone else in the room suddenly felt dizzy. The music box began to glow slightly.

As they regained balance after feeling dizzy, they tried to figure out what had happened. Unfortunately, the melody of the music box playing was too loud for them to communicate. The sound of the music box rang through their ears at a tremendously loud volume. Each of the nations covered their ears to block out the noise as well as they could. The crooked melody continued to play and all they knew about their location was that they were somewhere cold and dimly lit. After a few minutes it slowly came to a stop and all that was left to be heard were a faint melody and the sound of Italy crying.

"Italy, are you okay," Germany rushed to Italy's side.

"Ve~ Germany, I'm scared," Italy cried. "I felt all dizzy, and now everything looks strange."

"Where in the world are we?" Germany asked, just thinking out loud.

Everyone else was asking the same thing as they were all very confused. They appeared to be in a room with walls covered in what looked like clockwork gears and other types of mechanical pieces.

Rather than panicking and worrying like everyone else, England appeared to be busy scolding America for not taking him seriously.

"I told you that damn music box gave me a bad feeling, but you went and played the music anyway! This is entirely your fault," England said, harshly pinning all the blame on America.

"Hey, you can't blame all this on me!" America protested. "You practically let me turn the key, if you hadn't told me about it being a music box, I would have just left it there for decoration."

England couldn't deny that if he hadn't said anything then this may have not happened, but there was no way he could damage his pride by admitting that. Their argument soon caught everyone's attention.

"England-san, do you know what is going on?" Japan asked, expecting England to actually know.

"I can't be sure, but I would guess that America's music box has pulled us inside some kind of music box realm. I would even go as far as saying that we have been pulled inside the music box itself."

"What?" France couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We're inside a music box? How is that even possible?"

"Don't assume I have all the answers," England replied. "I'm only having a guess based on our surroundings and the strange feeling I felt from the box. This may be because of some kind of curse on the music box."

"Is there a way out, aru?" China asked.

"Didn't I just say that I don't have the answers, so stop asking questions," England said, becoming very annoyed.

"This is all very exciting," Russia smiled.

"Ve~ this is scary," Italy continued to cry.

"Don't worry, Italy, we'll find a way out of this strange place," Germany comforted Italy.

"Okay, if you say so, Germany," Italy soon stopped crying.

"This place could be dangerous and you don't have anything to defend yourself with, so stay close to me," Germany ordered Italy to be sure that Italy would be safe.

"Well I have my white flag and pasta," Italy said.

"Of course you do," Germany let out a sigh.

Suddenly everyone, other than Germany who was carrying a pistol, started checking what items they had with them to see if they had anything useful.

"I have my katana," Japan announced.

"I also have a sword with me," France says, pulling out his long silver sword.

"Why did you take a sword to the meeting, frog?" England questioned.

"Why was that question directed just at me?" France replied with his own question. "Do you not have your own weapon?"

"Of course I didn't bring a weapon," England said. "Actually, I do have my spell book with me. By the way, if anyone gets hungry, I also have some scones."

Everyone had a look of disgust on their face. They couldn't believe that even when trapped in some strange realm, England still brought along his disgusting cooking.

"No thanks, Angleterre," France said in reply to England hoping that they'll find a way out before he starts feeling hungry. "Italy mentioned bringing pasta, so I'm sure we're okay for food."

"Anyway," America interrupted to avoid talking about food any longer. "I have my revolver with me."

"I have my hockey stick, and I have some bandages, so if any of you get hurt, just let me know," Canada spoke quietly and most likely went unheard by everyone.

"Who are you?" Kumajirou asked, looking up at his owner.

"I'm Canada," he replied with a sigh.

"I have my wok, aru," China mentioned.

"I'm not even going to ask," England commented, not bothering to further question anyone's choice of items they take to the meetings.

"I have my pipe," Russia said, holding it up for everyone to see.

Russia looked rather sinister holding up his weapon with a large smile on his face.

"Well now that we all know what we have with us, what's the plan?" Germany asked. "There are three paths, but we don't know where they lead. One might be a way out."

"The best way to search this place would be to split up," Japan said.

"No way, dude!" America shouted, not sounding at all fond of Japan's idea. "Splitting up is dangerous. People who go alone are always the first to die in the movies!"

"I didn't say we'd go alone," Japan sighed. "We can just go in smaller groups."

"America, I'm sticking with you to be sure you don't do anything stupid," England said while glaring at America.

"You just want to be with the hero so you know you're safe," America teased.

"Don't be stupid!" England shouted at him. "It's your fault we're in this mess"

"Can I join your group?" Canada quietly asked.

He didn't receive a reply. No one had heard him. Before he could ask again, others began to talk, so Canada simply waited until he'd have another chance to speak.

"I'm sticking with Germany and Japan," Italy said, clinging to both of them.

"Ah, could you please not cling to me like that," Japan politely asked Italy as the clinging was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Sorry, Japan," Italy said as he let go and decided he'd just cling even tighter to Germany.

With everyone quiet again, Canada decided he'd ask again, hoping that he'd be heard the second time. After all, he didn't want to end up alone in such a creepy place.

"Can I join your group?" Canada asked, tapping America on the shoulder.

"Ahhh, ghosts!" America shouted as he felt his shoulder being touched but didn't see anyone there.

Canada stood there frowning at America's response. He was becoming tired of not being noticed.

"There isn't a ghost there, America," England says, realising that America's probably going to be freaking about anything scary they may come across in the music box realm. "That's just… um… who?"

England looks at Canada in confusion as he tries to remember his name.

"Ah, Canada, you're here?" England said, finally remembering who Canada is. "Did you want to be in a group with us?"

"Yes," Canada replied with a smile on his face, pleased that he was eventually noticed.

"Okay then, I think our group is decided, so that leaves frog face, China, and Russia," England stated the obvious. "Now we're all in groups of three."

"That's not fair, aru," China complained. "Everyone else got to choose who they go with."

"Did you not want to be in a group with me?" Russia asked China, sounding disappointed that China seemed so displeased to be with him.

"I was just saying it wasn't fair, aru!" China said, trying to not cause an argument with the large nation who was holding a pipe.

"If you find the way out, then contact the rest of us, but don't leave until everyone is there. Don't leave anyone behind." England ordered everyone as if he had the highest authority.

"We'll go this way! My hero instincts tell me the exit is over here" America shouted and began running down one of the paths.

He had run down the most brightly lit path. It was still quite dim, but some source of light was reflecting off the bronze gears that were on the wall, making that path slightly better lit than the other two.

"Wait up, America, you can't just run off like that!" England shouted as he chased after him. "You're the one who said we shouldn't split up!"

Canada followed England and America at a fast pace so that he would not become separated from them or left behind.

"Why don't we go this way?" Russia asked the two other members of his group as he pointed down the darkest path. "It will be like a fun adventure, da?"

France and China didn't appear too pleased, but the other path was also quite dark, and they knew they would have to go down one of them.

"Fine, let's just go, aru!" China said as he began walking down the dim path.

Russia happily walked along side him, however, France wasn't fond of this 'adventure' they were going on and lamentably followed.

"I guess that leaves us with this path then," Germany looked down the dimly lit path that was left.

"It looks so dark and scary; do we really have to go there?" Italy asked.

"We'll never get out of here if we stand around, we have to go or we'll end up trapped here even longer," Germany explained. "Just don't wander off and you'll be fine."

"Can't we just wait for the others to find the exit?" Italy clearly didn't want to go venturing down any dark paths.

"And what if the exit is down _this_ path? Then it will be even longer before we find a way out," Germany was becoming annoyed with Italy's attitude towards the situation. "I guess you could just wait here alone if you really don't want to come."

"No! Don't leave me alone, Germany!" Italy cried as he clung tightly to Germany's arm.

"Let's go then," Germany said as the trio began to walk the shadowy path.

Japan griped the handle of his katana, preparing for any trouble they may encounter, whereas Italy, who was still holding onto Germany, waved his white flag as they walked.


	2. England, America, and Canada

"Wait up you stupid git!" England called out as he caught up to America.

America stopped to wait for England to catch his breath. Canada soon also caught up to the two of them, but he wasn't as out of breath as England.

"Ha, England, you're like an old man," America laughed.

"Why did you run off like that, America?" England asked, glaring at America. "And don't call me old."

"If I'm gonna be the hero, I need to find the exit first," America said enthusiastically. "And this way we got first choice of which path we'd take."

England let out a sigh. He couldn't believe America would run off for such a stupid reason, although he could understand why America would have wanted to take the brightest path.

"Just don't run off again, we don't know what could be ahead, so let's just stick together from now on," England said, unimpressed with America's current behaviour.

"Okay, I won't leave you behind again, but don't slow me- AAAHHHHHHHH!" America screamed before he finished what he was saying. "GHOSTS!"

"You're not making fun of Canada again, are you?" England frowned.

"I'm not!" America trembled in fear. "There are actual ghosts! Look!"

America pointed, with his shaking hand, towards the shaded areas behind England. England turned around and saw what America was pointing at. In the shade were what appeared to be black shadowy figures that somewhat resembled people due to their human-like shape.

"I bet you're glad you didn't go too far on your own now," England said in an 'I told you so' manner.

"Just make them go away!" America shouted as he hid behind England, clinging to his shirt. "It's like I've been pulled into a horror movie."

"Hiding behind England won't help, America," Canada said in his quiet voice. "There are some the other side of us too."

Canada looked around at all the ghostly figures in the darkness while clutching tightly to Kumajirou. America had heard Canada and also began looking around, hoping to find somewhere that didn't have ghosts.

"We're doomed!" America cried. "There's no escape."

"Calm down, America!" England spoke loudly. "And let go of me! They're not going to hurt you."

"How can you be sure?" America asked as he loosened his grip on England's clothes.

"Don't you think they would have done something by now?" England asked rhetorically. "They don't seem to be leaving the dark, shaded areas, so even if they are dangerous, you should be fine as long as you stay where it's better lit."

"Okay," America didn't sound like he could confidently trust what England had just told him, but completely let go of England nonetheless.

The trio continued to walk, keeping in the dim light as much as possible. As they progressed, it appeared to be getting darker. America nervously glanced around, worried that the ghosts would come closer to them. He began to walk closer to England so that he would feel safer. Canada was just quietly following them and was no longer tightly hugging his bear.

"Are you sure we're safe?" America asked England, hoping for more reassurance that they would be okay.

"No," England simply replied.

"WHAT!? How can you say that after saying they won't attack us?" America began wishing he had never asked and began to panic.

"I can't be sure we're safe because I have no idea what else might be lurking in this place or what dangers may await us," England replied, becoming annoyed with America's constant panicking. "Your guess is as good as mine, so stop expecting me to know everything and think for yourself."

After hearing England's reasonable answer, America felt even less confident about their situation.

"You know a lot about supernatural things, so it's only normal for me to expect you to know about these things," America said. "Why are there ghosts here anyway?"

"You really can't think for yourself, can you?" England sighed. "If I were to take a guess, I'd say they are the trapped spirits of others who were pulled into this realm that weren't lucky enough to escape."

"If I knew you were going to give a creepy answer like that, then I wouldn't have asked," America complained.

"Just stop asking questions altogether then," England said, walking faster in the hope that if they hurried up they would be able to get out faster, meaning he wouldn't have to listen to America's constant complaining as long.

America and Canada also walked faster so they would not become too distant from England. Just as England has suggested, America stopped asking questions. Not because England had told him to, but because he was afraid of what reply he may receive.

Soon, the three of them realised the ghosts were leaving, going back into the darkness in the distance. However, this occurrence was not a fortunate one as it only signalled that something much more disastrous was coming.

Once the shadowy ghosts had fled, a faint clanking noise could be heard. The noise became louder and louder with each step they took. The trio stood still, trying to figure out what it could be. The sound was still getting closer. America was beginning to panic again and Canada tightly grasped his hockey stick for safety.

Out of the darkness, five mechanical creatures appeared. They had bodies that resembled a pin drum, which, to no surprise, was something that would be found inside a music box. The pins on the drum looked to be particularly sharp. It was these that were creating the strange clanking sound, and they were headed straight for England, America, and Canada.

America pulled out his revolver and began shooting at the cylinder shaped creatures. The bullets weren't even leaving a dent in their metal bodies. The three of them knew they had to do something before the creatures got too close.

"England, bullets don't work," America said in a panicked tone. "You have to fight too, so use your magic or something or they're gonna slice us to pieces."

"Calm down, we can get through this," England said, as he pulled out his spell book and started flipping through the pages. "One of these has to work."

England stopped at a page and spoke out a chant. Neither America nor Canada could understand what he was saying, but suddenly fire flashed before them. The fire burnt at a temperature so fiercely hot that it melted the three metal creatures it had hit.

"You might not want to get in the way of my magic," England said as a warning to America and Canada, but also as a threat to the two remaining mechanical creatures.

Before England had the time to cast the same spell, the creatures sped up, rolling straight towards America and Canada. England couldn't possibly attack the enemy with fire at such a close range without risking Canada and America also taking a lot of damage. He flicked through his book once more to find a more suitable spell.

As England began chanting, one of the creatures had reached Canada. He blocked the hit with his hockey stick, but the creature was still too close for comfort. The spikes were so close to Canada that if they were any closer they'd cut right through him. Kumajirou was also feeling uncomfortably close to the creature.

After Canada hit it away with his hockey stick, England had completed the spell. Ice appeared from out of nowhere and froze both the creatures, rendering them unable to move at all. America felt lucky that the one that was after him hadn't got close to him after seeing what a difficult time Canada was having.

"Are you two both alright?" England asked, concerned that he may have hit either of them with his magic.

"I'm fine, this is nothing a hero like myself can't handle," America boasted.

"You didn't even do anything, it was my magic that saved us," England complained. "I feel so drained now; I need to take a break after all that excitement."

"No way, we have to keep moving before more show up!" America insisted. "I don't feel safe here."

"I don't think we're safe anywhere, but if I have my energy back then at least we'll have a better chance of fighting them off again if more do show up," England argued, crossing his arms and refusing to move.

"Can't we just walk slowly?" America asked. "Moving at any pace would be better than sitting around doing nothing!"

"Fine, but-," England didn't finish his sentence before being picked up by America. "What are you doing?!"

America had picked England up and started carrying him over his shoulder.

"New plan," America said as he began to walk. "I'll just carry you until you feel better so we don't have to waste time; I'm the strong hero after all."

"Put me down this instant!" England ordered.

"No! You'll just slow me down if I let you walk," America said as he picked up the pace.

England didn't bother fighting back because although he didn't feel comfortable, he was kind of glad he didn't have to bother walking. It had felt like they had been walking for ages and the path didn't seem to change much. It was almost as if they were walking in circles.

"You need a better weapon," England said to America.

"Where am I supposed to find a better weapon in a place like this?" America asked.

"There has to be something somewhere," England said, despite not actually having any idea what could be used as weapon. "Anything would be better than that ineffective gun you carry."

"Fine, I'll keep my eyes out for something I could use," America said, not expecting to find anything useful. "The hero has to have the best weapon after all."

After walking for a little longer, more of the mechanical creatures appeared. They could recognise the clanking sound coming from the distance, so this time they were better prepared for fighting.

"America, if you're not going to help this time, then stay out of the way," England said as America placed him back on the ground.

"But I'm the hero! You can't expect me to do nothing!" America pouted.

"There are more of them this time," England said as the metal, spiky cylinders came into sight. "Hopefully I can take them all out in one hit."

England began to chant the same fire spell he had used before to melt the creatures. Before he could finish the chant, America picked up a nearby piece of metal and ran towards the creatures, ready to fight. It was a flat rectangular shape and had a jagged edge.

England noticed America's stupid act, and quickly finished his spell. He aimed the attack as far away from America as he could while still hitting half of the creatures.

"Get back you idiot!" England yelled. "I can handle this on my own!"

"A hero has to fight too!" America shouted at he went head to head with one of the creatures. The sharp metal he had acquired managed to leave a dent in the creature, but was not very effective. The sharp pins on the creature were close to slicing at America's arms and legs, but he wasn't going to let them touch him.

"Take this," America screamed as he slammed his sword-like metal down onto the creature, slicing it in half.

He may have dealt with one of the creatures, but four more were still attacking. England sent another flash of fire to melt the two that were still quite far away, but he couldn't destroy the last two that were attacking Canada. America ran over to help Canada who was defending himself and his bear from them with his hockey stick as best as he could. America slashed down on to the top of the creatures, one at a time, destroying them both.

"We did it!" America cheered.

"What are you so happy about?" England didn't sound pleased at all. "We could have been killed by your stupidity!"

"What are you talking about, England?" America couldn't understand what he did wrong. "I found a better weapon like you said I should."

"That doesn't mean you can charge straight for the enemy!" England scolded him. "I would have had everything under control if you just let me use my magic, but then you got in the way."

"Well no one got hurt, so what's the problem?" America asked, not noticing that Canada's leg was slightly bleeding.

"I'm sick of talking to you," England said, also not taking any notice of Canada. "Let's just go and find a way out of here."

Suddenly the extremely loud sound of the music box playing echoed throughout the realm. Everyone covered their ears just as they did the first time the sound played and waited for the sound to stop.

"That sounded like what we heard when we first got here," America commented as he removed his hands from his ears. "Does that mean someone else just got here too?"

England didn't bother replying; he just continued to follow the path.


	3. With the Axis

"Italy, you're going to trip us up if you keep clinging to me like that," Germany said as he tried pulling Italy off his arm.

Italy wasn't budging at all. His arm was firmly wrapped around Germany's as if he were holding on for dear life. Due to this clinging, Germany and Italy were beginning to stumble slightly as they walked. There weren't walking very fast, and so Japan was slightly further ahead than them.

"But it's so dark and scary, and you told me to stay close to you," Italy replied.

"Not this close," Germany told Italy with a sigh. "We really will trip if you-"

"Waahhh," Italy cried as he tripped.

Italy tumbled, falling into Germany and dragging him down to the floor. Italy had a soft landing as he had fallen on top of the larger nation, his face pressed against Germany's muscular chest. Germany, however, didn't have a soft landing at all as he hit the ground hard. He wasn't injured, but he did bump his head.

"Are you two alright?" Japan asked; turning to check what had happened.

"I'm so sorry, Germany," Italy began to cry as he pulled himself up. "I didn't mean to make you fall."

"We're fine, Japan," Germany said as he sat up with a groan. "Italy, I told you you'd make us trip! You should have stopped clinging to me when I told you to stop!"

After the two of them sat up, Italy was now sitting comfortably on Germany's lap.

"Ve! I'm sorry!" Italy continued to apologise without realising the position he was in.

"Just get off me so we can keep moving," Germany ordered Italy, feeling uncomfortable with Italy on top of him.

"Right, I'm sorry," Italy said as he stood up, allowing Germany to also stand up.

The trio continued to walk, but Italy no longer clung to Germany as it was clear he was not in a good mood with him. Instead, Italy started walking closer to Japan to be sure he'd not get in Germany's way anymore. Germany rubbed the back of his head where it had hit the ground.

"Are you sure you're okay, Germany-san?" Japan couldn't help but be concerned; after all, they were not in the greatest place to become injured as they lacked in supplies for treating any injuries.

"You don't have to worry so much," Germany replied. "I'm really fine."

As they walked down the long dark path, it only seemed to be getting darker and soon shadowy figures began to appear. As more of the ghosts appeared, the trio stopped where they were each standing, unsure if it would be safe to continue.

"What could they be?" Germany questioned as he glanced around at the ghostly creatures surrounding them.

"I don't know," Japan said in reply. "They don't look very friendly."

"Italy, why are you standing so far away from me?" Germany hadn't realised how far Italy had strayed from his side. "We don't know what kind of danger there could be, so don't wander off."

"I wasn't wondering off," Italy was shaking; he was scared of all the shadows. "You seemed mad at me, so I thought I'd keep my distance."

He felt like he couldn't do anything right. If he stood right by Germany he was too close, but if he's not by Germany's side then he's too far away. Italy didn't want to get in Germany's way anymore, but by keeping away he only made Germany worry about him.

"I'm not mad at you," Germany sighed. "I just wish you wouldn't be so clumsy. Now come over here, it doesn't seem very safe in this place."

Italy nodded, held tightly to his white flag, and began walking closer to Germany. Unfortunately, the ghostly figures didn't appear to be friendly at all. As Italy walked through the darkness, one of the shadows charged straight for him while letting out a screech.

"Watch out!" Germany shouted as he watched the creature draw closer to Italy.

Germany pulled out his pistol for protection, but knew he couldn't risk shooting near Italy's direction as it was rather dark and he didn't want to accidentally hit Italy. It was Japan who rushed in to save Italy. He quickly placed himself between Italy and the shadow and slashed the creature with his katana. The blade went straight through the ghostly body of the shadow, causing it to float backwards and retreat.

As more came closer, Japan continued to fight them off with his katana, protecting Italy. Germany shot at the ones coming from the other side. As they didn't have physical bodies, they couldn't be injured in the same way a living person could be, but they appeared to either fell pain from attacks or at least flee due to being scared of the attacks.

Soon they had all left, and the trio felt safer again. Italy had been helplessly waving his flag the whole time, but stopped to let his arms rest once the fight was over.

"Ve~ Japan, that was so cool!" Italy said with a big smile on his face, clearly impressed with how Japan handles his sword.

"It was nothing, Italy-kun," Japan said. "You didn't get hurt at all, did you?"

"I'm not hurt." Italy said, and then turned to face Germany. "Are you alright, Germany?"

"Of course I'm fine," Germany didn't appear very happy at all.

"That's good," Italy replied.

"Let's just keep going," Germany said as he started to walk further down the path.

Italy and Japan followed, but after a small while, they could hear a loud sound in the distance coming from behind them. It sounded like something large thumping against the ground, and was getting louder and faster as if something was approaching them. The trio turned to look behind them and saw a giant silhouette of something in the distance.

"Something scary is coming!" Italy cried.

"It's so big," Japan commented. "I'm not sure we'll be able to take it on if we choose to fight it."

"Let's go, we have to get away!" Germany shouted. "We don't know what we're up against."

The three of them began to run along the path. None of them turned back to check how close the monster was as they could tell by the loudness of each step it took. Italy, powered by fear, had sprinted to the front and was far ahead of Japan and Germany. The two of them did their best to catch up so that Italy wouldn't go out of their sight. A door soon came into sight.

"Italy!" Germany called out. "Go to that room; we can't stay on this path; it's getting closer!"

Italy did as he was told and waited by the door before entering. He didn't want to go in alone in case there were more monsters inside. As Germany reached the room, he opened the door and dragged Italy inside. Japan the caught up and also entered the room. Germany slammed the door shut once all three of them where in the room.

"I think we should be okay in here," Germany said between exhausted breaths. "You two can take a break, I'm going to check that this room is safe."

Germany began to wander around the room, pistol in hand for protection. Italy and Japan sat on the floor to catch their breath. The room was cold, very cold, but at least it appeared to be safer than staying on the path.

"I'm too old for this," Japan sighed as he slumped against the wall.

Italy, sitting beside him, was shaking. Tears dripped from his eyes; he was trying his best not to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop. Japan could hear him sniffling.

"Please don't cry, Italy-kun," Japan tried to comfort him. "We'll get out of here soon; everyone is doing their best to find a way out."

"But what if monsters are going after them too?" Italy cried. "I'm so scared, Japan. None of us are safe here, are we?"

"Don't be so negative. Everyone can fight if they have to, so I'm sure they are all okay," Japan wasn't really sure what to say to calm Italy down.

"But I can't fight," Italy didn't seem like he'd stop crying any time soon.

"Germany-san and I can fight for you, so don't worry about that," Japan said, unintentionally making Italy feel more like a burden to them.

Nothing Japan said seemed to comfort Italy. Italy soon cried himself to sleep, resting his head on Japan's lap; he was so exhausted. Germany finished checking the room and returned to be beside Japan and Italy.

"I think we're safe in here as long as nothing can come through the walls," Germany explained. "Is Italy doing okay?"

"He's scared," Japan said. "He has cried himself to sleep."

Germany crouched down beside Italy and touched his sleeping face. He wasn't just cold; he was freezing. Germany removed his jacket and draped it over Italy in hopes that it would keep him warm.

"You'll freeze," Japan said to Germany.

"I'll be fine, Italy needs it more," Germany said, not taking his eyes off Italy. "We can't stay here much longer, we need to make some progress so we can find a way out of this place, but for now, we should rest."

Germany was clearly worried about Italy. He braced the coldness of the room until he felt that Italy had rested enough. He gave Italy a nudge, but he wouldn't wake, so he nudged him harder and began to shake him. Italy wasn't waking, and Germany began to worry.

"Italy! Wake up!" Germany shouted as he shook him. "Wake up!"

Italy eventually woke up to see a worried looking Germany peering over him.

"Finally, you're awake," Germany said in relief. "Don't make me worry about you like that."

Italy shivered as he once again felt the coldness of the room.

"Germany, isn't this yours?" Italy asked as he sat up and held onto Germany's jacket that had been covering him. "Why do I have it?"

"You were cold," Germany said as he took the jacket back from Italy and was able to cover his arms from the cold again.

"Thank you," Italy said with a smile, grateful that Germany would give his own clothes off his back just to keep him warm.

Suddenly the extremely loud sound of the music box playing echoed throughout the realm. Everyone covered their ears just as they did the first time the sound played and waited for the sound to stop.

"Germany!" Italy cried as he removed his hands from his ears. "That was so loud and scary, just like earlier."

"Like earlier?" Germany recalled the sound of the music box being like that which was heard when they first entered the realm. "Does that mean someone else has arrived here?"

"That is a possibility," Japan stated. "Do you think we should go back to check? If they arrived like we did, they probably ended up in the same place as we did."

"We can't go back!" Italy began to panic. "The monster is out there! I feel safer in here, even if it is very cold."

"Italy! What did I tell you about sitting around and doing nothing?" Germany scolded Italy. "If we are right about someone else coming here, then we should find them. We decided we were all getting out of here together, so we're not excluding the newcomers. After all, it could be someone we know."

"Ve~ Okay, Germany, but promise me the monster won't come after us again," Italy sounded scared, but was doing his best to be brave.

Germany didn't want to make promises that he knew he couldn't have any control of. There was no way of knowing if the monster would come back, so Germany could only look Italy in the eyes and say the most comforting thing he could think to say.

"I can't know for certain that the monster will not appear again, but I promise you, Italy, I will not allow that monster to harm you if it does come after us again," Germany stared into Italy's teary eyes with a huge sense of duty to keep his friend protected.

"Thank you, Germany," Italy replied, knowing how serious Germany was. "Just don't get yourself hurt when protecting me."

"Don't worry about me," Germany spoke confidently. "I'm determined to get us all out of here unharmed."

Japan and Germany stood up, and Germany offered a hand to help Italy up. Italy took one look at the hand and then looked away, pulling himself up off the cold ground.

Italy was tired of feeling so useless, always being the one who couldn't fight for himself. He felt bad for causing Germany to trip up; he didn't want to be in anyone's way. He wanted to be helpful, but lacking any weapon made him feel even more powerless. Little did he know, Germany also felt just as powerless after not being the one to save Italy when he was first attacked by the ghosts.


	4. France, China, and Russia

"You had to choose the darkest path, didn't you?" France really wasn't pleased at all with the situation they were in.

"Stop complaining; we didn't have much choice anyway, aru," China said, also not looking very happy about where they were.

"This is all England's fault," France continued to complain. "If he hadn't taken such an interest in this cursed music box, then we wouldn't all be here."

"I have to agree, aru," China commented.

They continued to walk in silence with just a creepy music box melody quietly playing in the background. Suddenly the three of them found themselves surrounded by ghostly figures. They all stopped where they were and looked around. There was no way to get around them.

"What are these things?" France asked; he felt very terrified.

"They are ghosts, da," Russia calmly said.

Russia glared at the shadowy figures and they suddenly disappeared. He then turned to face the ghosts behind him, and they also fled. Just seeing Russia's scary expression was enough to cause all of the ghosts to leave purely out of fear.

"There, now you don't have to be scared," Russia said.

France and China just froze out of shock. They couldn't comprehend how Russia had scared away a crowd of ghosts with just one look. They were conflicted about whether staying near Russia would be a bad idea or a good one.

"Scared of what exactly?" France asked, trying to suggest that Russia was much more terrifying than the ghosts.

"Let's just keep going, aru," China said as he continued to walk, trying to avoid the awkward tension growing amongst their group.

"If there are ghosts here, people must have died here, da?" Russia suggested.

"I guess so, aru," China nervously replied, wondering if Russia was just stating the obvious just to make them even more scared in their situation.

As they continued to walk, China and France did feel slightly safer knowing that the creatures in the music box realm were scared off easily. It also helped that the path appeared to be slightly getting brighter the further they walked.

After a long time they reached what appeared to be a dead end. However, it couldn't be a dead end because there was part of the wall where light was seeping through a gap in the same way light would be visible in the edges of a closed door.

"There's obviously something on the other side, but there's no way through," France commented upon observing the gaps in the wall.

"Maybe we can break through," Russia suggested as he held up his pipe.

"It's worth a try, aru," China said, not able to come up with a better plan himself.

Russia raised his pipe and hit it as hard as he could against the wall. After multiple hits against the wall, it showed no sign of breaking down. Russia didn't want to give up so quickly, and after another hit, a small part of the wall did break off. However, this wasn't a simple piece of rubble; it was shaped like a cog.

"What is this for?" France asked as he picked up the piece.

"Look at the wall, aru," China said as he closely examined it. "There are gaps all over the wall and they're all shaped similar to that piece, aru"

"So Russia knocked the last piece out?" France questioned as he failed to see anymore pieces on the wall. "It doesn't seem to be opening a way though."

"Aiya! That probably means we have to fill all the gaps with the right pieces to open it, aru," China explained, not sounding pleased about the idea of doing a puzzle.

"Don't we need all of the pieces before we can do that?" Russia asked. "We only have one."

"Exactly, aru," China said. "And we have no idea where all of the other pieces are."

"There are some more on the floor," France pointed out as he began picking them up.

There were many cogs scattered all over the floor, and each was different in size and shape, and the wall was like a blank canvas. The possible placements of each cog appeared to be endless. China ran his hand over the cold wall and felt for any gaps in the wall. Fortunately his could feel a few cog shaped gaps, meaning that it was just a matter of placing all of the pieces in the right gap. It seemed simple enough, but as the three of them picked up all the cogs they could find and began placing them into the wall, they seemed to really struggle.

"That piece goes there, aru!" China shouted."Aiya! France, just give that one to me; it goes here!"

"No, it doesn't take a genius to places cogs into a wall," France protested, refusing to hand over the pieces he was holding. "Just let me do it."

France continued to try placing cogs in the right place, but just seemed to be trying to get the small ones to stay in the larger gaps, while trying to squash the non flexible, larger pieces into the gaps they were a bit too big for them to fit. China was really getting annoyed with him, and so he hit him over the head with his wok, causing France to drop half of his cogs on the floor.

"Ouch! That hurt! What was that for?" France complained.

"If you can't place any of the pieces correctly then just leave it to me and Russia, aru!" China continued to nag.

"You didn't need to hit me!" France was becoming increasingly annoyed, and his head really hurt.

"If you two are fighting," Russia interrupted as he stopped placing pieces into the wall. "Can I join? Kolkolkolkolkol."

"No, and we're not fighting, aru," China said. "I'm just trying to maintain some order. We'll never get this done if France can't place a single piece properly, aru."

"Fine!" France said firmly as he threw down the cogs he was holding. "I'm going on a strike. I won't even try to help you out anymore."

"That's fine with me, aru" China said as he crouched to pick up all the pieces France had let go of.

France walked a bit away from China and Russia, not too far that he felt unsafe, but far enough to feel out of their way. Without France wrongly placing the cogs, China and Russia were quickly able to finish inserting every piece they had. For some reason, the wall still didn't open up as they had expected. China inspected the wall and found another gap that was missing a piece. After telling Russia, they both began searching the floor to try to find it on the floor nearby. The search was unsuccessful.

"France, did you take a piece?" China asked, glaring at France.

"Why are you accusing me?" France replied. "I threw all the pieces I had on the floor where I was standing."

"Maybe there are more that what were left by the wall," Russia suggested.

"I guess we'll have to look around, aru" China said as he started walking back along the path they just walked.

Russia followed him, leaving France all by himself.

"You're just going to leave me by myself?" France asked, worried that the ghosts would reappear without Russia nearby to scare them off.

"Well you didn't want to help," China called back as he continued to walk.

While China and Russia were searching for the last piece, France started to look around nervously. However, it wasn't any ghost, monster, or creature he spotted, but the piece they were missing from the wall. France was now conflicted about what to do. He had already said that he wouldn't help, and not only would giving them the piece be helping, but would also make it seem like he had the piece the whole time and was just trying to annoy China.

France decided that he would just put it somewhere that China would be more likely to find it. He walked over to the cog and kicked it towards the wall near where the other cogs were placed. Russia and China soon returned not looking so happy after unsuccessfully being able to find the piece.

"Well it must be somewhere, aru," China said upon return.

China took a look around and saw the piece on the floor where he was sure they had already checked.

"Was it really here the whole time, aru?" China questioned, sure that he checked the place properly before conducting a search elsewhere.

His uncertainty of the whereabouts of the missing cog caused him to glare at France; he was even more convinced that France had the piece the whole time. China picked up the cog and inserted it into the wall. As he pushed it into place all of the cogs on the wall began to rotate. After they had all rotated a full 360 degrees each, the wall opened up. The section of the wall covered in the cogs slid to the right, giving the trio access to a new area of the realm.

Suddenly the extremely loud sound of the music box playing echoed throughout the realm. Everyone covered their ears just as they did the first time the sound played and waited for the sound to stop.

"That noise sounded strangely familiar," Russia commented as the music stopped.

"Well of course it did. That was the same sound that was played when we first got here, aru," China explained.

"Does that mean more people have joined in on this excitement?" Russia asked.

"For their sake, I hope not, aru," China replied.

With that commotion over, the three of them stepped into the new room that had discovered. It was slightly better lit than the path, but still appeared very dim in places. The room was very large, and appeared to stretch very far.

"Aiya, there is not even anything here, just a large empty room, aru" China complained, disappointed that they still seemed so far off finding an exit.

"Either this is a giant room or just another large path to take," France commented as he glanced around the room. "There's no way out as far as we can see, and it seems to stretch even further into the distance."

"Looks like we have more exploring to do," Russia said, not sounding bothered at all that they were to be spending even longer in the dangerous realm. "Let's keep going and see what is ahead."

After just walking a few more steps into the room, France stepped on something and soon began to cry out in pain.

* * *

**A/N: Just thought I'd let you know that I'm not saying what has happened to France until chapter 7, but I'll be introducing another character to the story in the next chapter. **


	5. Prussia's welcome to the realm

**A/N: This chapter is kinda from Prussia's view. Also, I'm sorry that this chapter is so short compared to the other chapters. I've been feeling lazy (I just spent the past few days just playing Danganronpa and doing nothing else), but I really should be writing new chapters for this story, so don't worry my laziness should end soon. **

* * *

"Being alone is awesome, kesesese," Prussia said to himself as he drank his beer while lounging on the couch in Germany's house.

_I wonder where West is. He should have been back from the meeting ages ago. He can't possibly still be there can he? _

Prussia, growing worried about his brother's whereabouts, decided to call him. However, he couldn't contact him at all. After trying a few more times, and then also failing at contacting Italy, Prussia became even more worried.

_Maybe something happened. The awesome me will find them and help them out!_

Prussia placed his beer on the table and stood up. Before setting out in search for his brother, Prussia decided he would take along his sword, believing that if they were in big trouble or danger at all, he could be extra helpful and extra awesome with his awesome sword.

_Well all I knew was that the meeting was at America's house, so I guess that's where I'll go. They might still be there. _

As Prussia left the house, his little yellow bird flew towards him and landed on his head.

"You want to come too?" Prussia asked his little feathered friend.

The bird gave out a little cheeping noise in reply as he ruffled his feathers in Prussia's hair.

"Alright then, let's go see if we can find where everyone is!" Prussia sounded rather excited, as if he were going on some sort of adventure, and taking the sword with him really made it feel that way.

After the long journey to America's house, Prussia felt tired. He let out a huge yawn as he knocked on the door. The house seemed quiet and no one was coming to answer the door, but he didn't wait long before he decided to open the door himself.

_The door isn't locked. Maybe they are here and are just being too lazy to open the door. Or maybe the meeting is still going on for some reason; I guess that would explain why their phones are off. It's too quiet though; everyone is usually so noisy at the meetings. _

Prussia headed straight to the meeting room in America's home. When he arrived there, he saw that there were still papers and various other objects scattered around the room. France's wine was still out on the table and there was pasta where Italy would have been sitting. He walked around the table until Germany's neatly stacked documents caught his eyes.

_These belong to West. He wouldn't have just left them, so he must still be here. Everyone else's things are here to, so they must be here somewhere, but there's no one here, so where is everyone? They wouldn't have just left the room like this. Maybe something really bad did happen._

The next thing that caught Prussia's attention was the shiny box that was sitting on the table between England and America's belongings. He walked over to the box and picked it up, and his little bird flew on top of it and then flew right back into Prussia's hair.

_Isn't this a music box? Why would they bring this to the meeting? I wonder if it plays an awesome song._

Prussia turned the box around so that the key was facing him. He slowly rotated the key in the box. As he released the key from his grasp, the melody began to play and Prussia began to feel dizzy. The music box glowed and Prussia suddenly found that he was no longer in America's meeting room.

As Prussia regained balance, he covered his ears to block out the loud sound of the music box playing and looked in confusion at his surroundings.

_Where is this? _

Before he could think anything else, he was hit in the back by a large force from something behind him. He turned and saw a strange creature that was attacking him. It looked like some sort of goblin; it was only half of Prussia's size, but so strong. The goblin creature held a large mallet in its hand. Prussia was surprised it hadn't broken his spine, but he was glad that it had hit his back and not his head; otherwise his yellow friend would have been squished.

_What the heck is this? Agh, my back hurts so much, but there's no way I'm letting this weird creature defeat someone as awesome as me. _

Grasping his sword tightly in his hand Prussia took a swing and fought back. The music box melody was still playing at its extremely loud volume, giving Prussia a headache now that he couldn't cover his ears because he needed his hands to fight.

Unfortunately, this creature wasn't alone. Another jumped at Prussia from the side, slicing a large section of his arm with a knife. Blood poured from the cut, soaking his sleeve, even though the knife hadn't gotten very deep into him. The pain made it harder for him to fight, but he did his best. The goblin-like creature holding the knife appeared to be the biggest threat, but was actually very weak and was easily defeated after a few slashes from Prussia's awesome sword.

However, the other goblin creature was not so easily defeated. It continued to block and dodge all of Prussia's attacks. Prussia was becoming exhausted from all the unexpected fighting. The goblin let out a mischievous laugh as if to say "I'm wining this fight". With a final swing of his mallet, slamming it into Prussia's side, Prussia lost his grip on his sword and went crashing into the nearest wall. He hit his head and fell unconscious.

The sword had slid across the floor to the other side of the room. The creature fled from the room, proud of his victory. Prussia lay on the ground, covered in bruises, defeated by the creatures that had attacked him. Blood flowed from his head and arm which were pressed against the rough, cold ground. His bird emerged from his hair, slightly covered in some of Prussia's blood, and let out a few cheeps of despair as he nestled up against Prussia's neck.


	6. Lonely nations unite

**A/N: This chapter will be from Canada's view.**

* * *

Canada stopped as he has decided to bandage the wound on his leg.

"Please wait for a little bit," Canada said to England and America as he searched through his bag for the bandages.

Without checking that they were waiting for him, he pulled out the bandages from his bag and rolled up his trouser leg. After wrapping his cut leg in bandages, he rolled his trouser leg back down and went to put the bandages back into his bag, but then noticed Kumajirou was also bleeding.

"Oh no, your paw is cut, Kumagoro," Canada said as he started unravelling the bandages again. "They must have got to you too. I'm sorry; I can't stop those things with my hockey stick."

Kumajirou stretched his paw out and Canada began treating his wound.

"There you go, Kumakiro," Canada says, placing the rest of the bandages back in his bag.

"Who are you?" the bear asked.

"I'm Canada," Canada replied with a sigh.

He looked around and saw that England and America went on without him.

"I asked them to wait," Canada said with worry and sadness in his voice. "We aren't supposed to split up, but they've left us. They forgot about me again."

"It's probably because you're so quiet," Kumajirou said, not sounding very comforting in their situation. "We should catch up with them if we just follow the path."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Canada agreed as he began to walk.

They silently walked down the path. Canada's cut on his leg wasn't very painful, so it didn't affect how he walked. Canada was surprised and relieved that creatures weren't jumping out at them, but he was also worried that he wasn't catching up to England and America despite quickening his pace. Soon he came to a fork in the path. He tossed his head from side to side, looking down each path, unsure of where to go.

_I know, I'll call America and explain I got left behind. Why didn't I think of that before? _

Canada pulled out his phone, but as soon as he looked at the screen, he noticed there was no signal. It became clear that contacting each other in the realm would be impossible. This problem stretched further than just not being able to tell America and England that he had been separated from them; it also meant that once someone found the exit, they would have no way of telling the others. Canada decided to not panic and just focus on finding England and America.

_There are two ways to go, but which way did they go? They wouldn't have split up; at least I don't think they would have, so they must have both gone down the same path. I have a 50/50 chance of choosing the same way as them, but which way would be right? Right? No that would be stupid to say that going right would be right just because they sound the same. Actually, maybe America had the same thought when he and England were deciding which way to go. _

Canada took a deep breath to keep himself calm as he stepped to his right and began to walk. He continued to nervously look around his surroundings in fear that monsters would come out at him at any moment. After walking for ages, there was still no sight of America or England.

_I chose the wrong path, didn't I? I should have caught up by now, but I can't see them or hear them. All I hear is the faint sound of the music box music, but it sounds creepier than before. At least I've not seen any more of those creatures._

The path was too creepily peaceful. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to jump out at him at any moment. He stopped to have another look around him to check that there really wasn't anything there.

_It's okay; even if something does come, I'm sure I can fight alone if I have to._

Canada continued to walk until he reached a clearing at the end of the path. Neither America nor England were in sight. Canada let out a huge sigh of disappointment.

"I guess we have to go back," Kumajirou said.

"Wait," Canada said as he walked deeper into the room. "I think there is someone over there, and not like a monster or anything."

Canada walked closer to the figure lying on the ground. As he approached him, he saw that it was Prussia. He looked badly injured and was clearly covered in blood, but he was still alive. After all, countries can't be killed so easily. Beside him, the little yellow bird chirped desperately, as if he were calling out for help for his friend.

"Prussia!" Canada exclaimed as he rushed to Prussia's side and began to shake him. "Wake up, Prussia."

_He must have been the one who played the music box earlier. He's not been here long, so how did he get beat up this badly already? _

Prussia wasn't waking up at all. Canada decided it would be best to focus on treating Prussia's wounds. He pulled out the bandages from his bag and began wrapping them around Prussia's head which was no longer bleeding very much. He wrapped some more bandages around the large cut on Prussia's arm. Just as Canada finished applying the bandages, Prussia woke with a groan.

"Ugh," Prussia groaned as he began opening his eyes.

He was clearly in pain. His bruise covered body ached as he sat up and he felt a little dizzy. He could hear his bird chirping in his ear, sounding pleased that Prussia was finally up.

"Sorry to make you worry, Gilbird," Prussia said as he rubbed his eyes as if he had just woken from a nap. "I'm glad you weren't hurt."

When his eyes were fully open and he had woken up properly, he could see Canada sitting next to him, putting the spare bandages away.

"You're… Canada, right?" Prussia asked, making Canada jump out of surprise.

Canada nodded his head in reply to Prussia's question.

_He remembers me? It's so nice to be noticed. _

"Are you okay, Prussia?" Canada asked in his quiet voice. "I bandaged you up as best as I could."

"The awesome me can't be defeated so easily. I think I'm fine," Prussia boasted despite actually being defeated. "Thanks for patching me up."

"You hit your head, so please take it easy," Canada said, hoping that Prussia was really as fine as he claimed to be.

"Don't worry about me. Anyway, where are we?" Prussia asked, looking very confused as he glanced around his surroundings. "I remember going to America's house to look for West, but then I was attacked by some strange creatures."

"We're inside a music box," Canada replied.

"Oh yeah, there was a music box on the table," Prussia recalled. "Wait, what do you mean we're inside it? Are we like really tiny or something?"

"Not exactly. That music box pulled us in to this strange world," Canada explained. "Everyone is here, but we all split up. Germany went with Italy and Japan. I was with England and America, but I ended up left behind."

"They left you behind? That's not awesome at all!" Prussia exclaimed. "Well don't worry, we're together now, and I won't leave you behind."

Canada was happy that he wasn't alone, but was worried that neither he nor Prussia could protect themselves if they were attacked again. Meanwhile, Prussia appeared to be preoccupied with looking for something.

"Did you lose something?" Canada asked.

"My sword, it's not here," Prussia began to panic.

He tried to stand up so that he could search for it, but he started feeling dizzy again and his body ached so much that he found himself being supported by Canada.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Canada said as he helped Prussia to his feet. "I'll help you find it."

"Thanks," Prussia said as they started to look around.

"Is that your swords, Prussia?" Canada asked as he pointed to the sharp blade.

"Yes, that's it," Prussia said. He let go of Canada and started walking on his own towards the sword.

"Are you alright to walk on your own?" Canada followed Prussia. "You can lean on me again if you need to."

"Thanks, but I should be alright now," Prussia said confidently as he bent down and picked up his sword. "And now that I have my sword again, I can protect us from anything that tried to harm us."

"We should get a move on," Canada said. "The sooner we find the exit, the sooner we can get out of here."

"Yeah," Prussia agreed. "This place isn't- AAHHH."

Before Prussia could finish speaking, another goblin-like monster appeared and struck him in the back of his knees with a big stick, causing him to fall to the ground. Canada quickly hit the goblin over the head with his hockey stick, knocking the creature unconscious.

"Are you okay?" Canada asked as he helped Prussia up.

"Yeah, let's just get out of here," Prussia got to his feet. "Thanks."

"No problem," Canada replied; feeling pleased that he was helpful.

They walked down the path Canada had just come from, wary of their surroundings. Prussia was sick of surprise attacks and felt embarrassed about Canada seeing him so badly beaten up.

"How long have you and everyone else been here?" Prussia asked. "And where did my brother go?"

"Not long, I think, but it feels like ages," Canada replied. "And I'm not sure; I followed America and England before finding out which path he took."

"Well, we're going to look for him," Prussia said, determined to find his brother. "You're okay with that, right? It wouldn't be safe for you to wonder off looking for the others on your own."

"That's fine, it's safer if we go together," Canada let out a sigh. "England and America probably haven't even noticed that I'm not with them."

_I did want to search for England and America, but oh well. At least Prussia seems to actually notice me._

"If we continue to head down the path I just came from, then we should end up where the others and I first got here. From there we'll have to guess which way Germany, Italy, and Japan went," Canada explained.

"Well that's a good start," Prussia smiled, feeling very confident about finding his brother. "With your knowledge and my awesomeness, we'll find them in no time."

As they continued to walk, the clanking sound could be heard again. Canada knew exactly what was coming, but knew there was no way he could fight them.

"Oh no," Canada spoke quietly. "Not again."

"Did you say something?" Prussia asked.

"Can you hear that noise?" Canada asked in reply.

"Yeah, I hear something," Prussia said as he listened out for the noise. "It's getting louder."

"There are these mechanical things coming. They are very dangerous and the only way we could defeat them was using England's magic, but then America used a piece of sharp metal he found and was able to slice them," Canada explained, sounding very worried about their situation. "I think it would be best if we ran away before they get to close."

_I know Prussia has a sword, but he's badly injured. If a lot of those things come, then I'm not sure he'll be able to defeat them all. _

"The awesome me doesn't run away from a fight!" Prussia exclaimed as he tightly gripped his sword. "I'll slice through every last one of them."

"Are you sure you're okay to fight? You injuries were pretty bad," Canada couldn't help but worry.

"I'm fine, you don't need to be concerned about me," Prussia said as he saw two of the creatures come into view.

Canada nodded his head, despite Prussia not looking at him.

_I hope he can handle just two of them. If there were more then I'm sure he would struggle. I wish I could fight; I feel bad about just standing out of the way and letting everyone else do everything. I guess need a new weapon too. _

Prussia charged into the fight not realising how tough beating them would be. As he slashed at them, he was only leaving small dents. After attacking a few more times, he was able to cut into them deeper. After breaking the mechanism in both of them, leaving them as scrap metal, he returned to Canada's side.

"I told you I could do it, I'm so awesome. Kesesesese," Prussia laughed.

"Prussia, your arm is bleeding again," Canada said as he watched the bandages turn red with blood.

"It's nothing to worry about," Prussia said as he covered the bandaged cut with his hand to hide it.

"The bandages are getting soaked in blood, let me change them," Canada said as he pulled out some clean bandages.

Prussia allowed him to change the bandages; he appeared to be running out after using so many already. They then continued their journey down the path Canada came from in hopes of eventually meeting up with Germany, Italy, and Japan.


	7. Unfortunate incidents

America and England continued to walk. They weren't talking to each other and wouldn't even look at each other. It was a quiet walk with only the gentle sound of a music box melody playing in the background. Their minds were too occupied with thinking of the argument they just had that they didn't even realise they had left Canada behind.

Eventually they came to a fork in the path, and they knew they would have to start talking again if they were to progress and discuss which path to take.

"Hey, the sound is louder coming from the left path," America spoke first as he carefully listened.

"How can you tell?" England asked in disbelief of America's claim. "It sounds the same everywhere."

"No way, it's defiantly louder on the left."

"Why is that important anyway?"

"Because it's like the lost woods; we have to follow the sound."

"What sort of logic is that? We're not in some game, America!"

"Come on, England, it wouldn't hurt to trust my judgement. Just because we don't always agree on everything doesn't mean you're choice is always the right one."

"I suppose we have to go one way, so fine, we'll go left, but if anything bad happens, it's your fault."

"Stop blaming everything on me; I can't control if something bad happens! Besides, I'm the hero, so don't worry, I can deal with anything that awaits us on this path!"

"Whatever you say, America," England let out a sigh.

"You're still mad at me?" America asked as he pouted.

"Of course," England replied, and didn't utter another word.

The two of them headed down the left path at America's request. They were not talking again. They simply walked and hoped that nothing was going to try to attack them. After walking for a while, the floor began to shake a little. They tried to not think much of it and continued to walk, but the shaking became more violent and the floor began to break. They both ran in hopes of reaching a part of the path where the ground was much more stable, but the ground broke where America had stepped.

America fell through the ground but managed to hold on to the ground around the edge of the hole. His fingers were slipping and he knew he'd not be able to hold on much longer. Just as his fingers could no longer grasp onto the edge any longer, England stretched out his hands and caught hold of America's wrist.

"England, you're not strong enough to pull me up, you'll fall too!" America shouted up to England. "Just let me go! I'll probably be fine, after all, we don't die too easily."

"Don't say something so stupid," England replied as he tried pulling America up. "I'm not going to let you fall!"

America could see in England's eyes just how serious he was. He grasped onto England's arms and tried to help pull himself up. England was able to pull America up enough that America could once again grasp at the ground at the edge of the hole. From there, America was able to use his own strength to pull himself up further with England still helping him.

Once America was out of the hole, the ground had stopped shaking. England and America both sat on the ground near the hole, but at a safe enough distance away to avoid falling in, to rest.

"Thanks for saving me," America said and laughed nervously. "I must be such an un-cool hero if I need to be saved."

"Don't worry about it, neither of us could have done anything about the floor breaking," England replied. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"But why did you bother save me?" America asked. "You could have fallen too. Besides, I thought you were mad at me."

"Just because I'm mad at you doesn't mean I don't care about you," England said, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

"Really?" America asked.

"Yes, really, and now that you know it, don't make me say it again," England stood up and reached a hand down to America. "Let's go."

America took hold of England's hand and allowed him to help him up. They released each other's hands and continued to walk along the dimly lit path. They both understood that it wasn't the right place to be continuously fighting. They both put their arguments and differences behind them and decided that cooperation would be the only way they would find a way out.

They soon came to what appeared to be a door that was lacking any handle to open it with. England pushed against the door, but it wouldn't open.

"Must be a pull door, or maybe there is a special way to open it," England guessed as he examined the door.

"Out the way, England!" America shouted.

England stepped away from the door and watched as America charged forward, ramming himself straight into it, and breaking it open. The door was not as solid as it appeared considering how easily it had broken with just America's strength.

"Well that's one way to open it," England chuckled as he stepped into the area they now had access to.

"You're welcome," America followed England into the room.

"Is that?" England questions as he peered over at the familiar figures in the distance. "Oh great, that path connects to the one that stupid frog took. I bet none of us have made any real progress here."

"Well at least we know where the path leads and we're not all split up anymore," America commented, trying to be optimistic.

"Let's just go and see what they're doing," England suggested.

The two of them walked over to where France, China, and Russia were. France was in tears, and was trying to remove a large spring from around his ankle. He had accidentally stood on it, when he had entered the area, and it had painfully tightened around his ankle. He pulled at the spring as furiously, but it wouldn't come off at all. It appeared to be tightening each time he pulled at it. The sharp metal spring had pieced through his boots and clothes and was slightly cutting his left ankle.

"What the blood hell are you doing, frog!?" England shouted, not pleased to find that the three of them had also apparently made no progress at all in their journey either.

"It's not my fault that the strangest things attack us in this place, so don't shout at me," France said as he painfully continued to pull at the spring. "It's like this thing has a mind of its own and doesn't want to let go."

"Dude, I'm stronger than you," America boasted. "Let me help, I'm the hero after all."

America tightly grasped the spring in his hands and pulled with all his might.

"Aaggghhh! STOP!" France screamed out in pain. "Are you trying to rip my let off?"

America's strong pulling only made the spring tighter, just as France's pulling did. The spring was so tightly wrapped around his ankle that it had began cutting through his skin. Blood started to stain France's shredded boots, and France continued to cry out in pain.

"America, let go, you idiot!" England shouted. "You're just making it worse."

America could also see the damage it was doing and let go of the spring. France clutched at his ankle, hoping the spring would just let go so that he could be freed of the pain.

"Sorry, France," America apologised, feeling really bad for causing France more pain. "It looks like there's no way to get it off."

"Why don't we just cut his leg off?" Russia suggested.

"Non! Don't even joke about that!" France exclaimed.

"Who said I was joking?" Russia chuckled.

"I know what the problem is, aru!" China said confidently. "I don't see why you'd deserve my help, but basically, rather than pulling, try pushing each end of the spring closer together, aru."

"How is that supposed to work?" France questioned in annoyance.

"Quit being such as wimp, aru," China scolded France. "It's like a Chinese finger trap; the harder you pull, the tighter it becomes. The only way out is to push the opposite way so that it will be enlarged and not tighten, aru."

France let go of his leg and took a deep breath. He took hold of each end of the spring and started pushing them closer together as China had instructed. As the ends became closer, the hole got bigger and the spring became loose around his ankle, so France was able to remove it from his ankle. As soon as it was off, France threw the spring away from him and promised to himself that he would pay more attention to where he steps.

"Ah, I'm free," France said in relief; however his ankle was still bleeding and really hurt. "Thanks, China."

"You're so smart China, you should become one with me, da?" Russia said with a big smile and stepped closer to China.

"Aiya! Keep away from me!" China shouted as he stepped away from Russia.

As he took another step back, his foot pressed on a switch that was on the floor. Suddenly the ground began to shake and more switches appeared from the ground. The trail of switches stretched as far as they could see. It appeared to be a 5x10 grid of switches.

"What the heck did you just do, China?" America asked.

"I didn't do anything, aru!" China protested.

"This looks interesting, ufufu," Russia smiled as he looked along the dark, switch filled corridor.

"There must be at least 50 switches on the floor, how do we know which ones we are suppose press?" England questioned.

France, who was still sitting on the floor, felt like he had been forgotten about. He wanted to see how bad the damaged to his ankle was. After removing his boot, he could clearly see that his foot was badly cut and his ankle was still slightly bleeding where the spring had cut into him. France knew he had nothing to patch himself up with, but he soon recalled that Canada was carrying bandages with him.

"Canada?" France called out when he realised that he couldn't see Canada anywhere.

He looked around, frantically turning from side to side.

"Angleterre," France called over to England. "Canada went with you, didn't he?"

"Yes, he-" England soon realised he had forgotten about Canada. "Oh shit, where is he?"

"That's what I'd like to ask you!" France shouted. "How could you leave Canada behind when we're in such as terrible situation. If something has happened to him, I'll never forgive you."

England felt terrible for forgetting about Canada. As did America when he found out that Canada was missing. As a hero, protecting those around him should have been his top priority, but he had assumed Canada was following them and ended up forgetting that he was with them.

"America, we're going back, we have to find Canada," England demanded.

America couldn't agree more. As they began to walk, France started putting his shredded boot back on.

"Wait, I'm coming too," France insisted, attempting to stand up.

"Not a chance, frog," England said. "You'll just slow us down."

France slumped back to the ground, accepting that he couldn't possibly help with his bad ankle. He knew he would have to trust that England and America would be able to find him.

"Just figure out what all the switches are for by the time we get back," England commanded before leaving with America.

France nodded as he watched England and America run back the way they came from in search of Canada.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating this story for a while. My laptop hasn't been working well for a while now, making it annoyingly difficult to upload or write new chapters for this story. **


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